Photo by: Elijah Hickman
Nine Lancers Open 2023 Minor League Baseball Season
4/19/2023 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE — California Baptist's baseball program has nine alumni playing in every level of minor league baseball this year as the 2023 season kicked off in early April. Four Lancers opened with Single-A squads, three began with High-A teams, and one started the season with a Double-A affiliate of the Blue Jays. A single Lancer debuted with a Triple-A squad during the 2023 MiLB opening weekend.
The Lancers have a history of success in professional baseball under the tenure of Gary Adcock. In the last 19 seasons, Adcock has had 28 players drafted and seven free-agent signings. The most recent 2022 draftees include Chad Castillo, whom the Philadelphia Phillies drafted in the ninth round, CJ Culpepper, who was picked up in the thirteenth round by the Minnesota Twins, and David Martin, whom the Arizona Diamondbacks selected in the sixteenth round. Harrison Spohn signed a free-agent deal with the Miami Marlins in 2022 as well.
SINGLE-A
In his first year with the Minnesota Twins organization, CJ Culpepper opened the season with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels and saw four innings of action on the mound. The right-handed pitcher delivered two strikeouts and kept his ERA untouched after allowing a single hit.
Harrison Spohn signed as a free agent with the Miami Marlins in 2022 and was placed on the Single-A Jupiter Hammerheads for the 2023 season. The shortstop launched the first home run of the Hammerhead's season and has collected four hits and three RBI in the first two weeks of the season.
Chad Castillo enters his first year apart of the Clearwater Threshers and already has three hits on the season. Castillo tallied his first home run of the season during the first series of the year and is maintaining a .200 batting average.
David Martin joins the Visalia Rawhide for his first year in Single-A baseball. Martin is currently hitting .222 and has two hits on the year as a catcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks Organization.
HIGH-A
Damon Keith started the year with a trip to Spring Training, where he saw the field multiple times for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Keith came up with three hits during three games for the Dodgers, including a double against the Cincinnati Cubs. The outfielder is now back at the Great Lakes Loons and has put up five hits with four RBI for the Dodger's High-A affiliate squad. Keith currently ranks 25th on the Los Angeles Dodgers prospect list.
Logan Rinehart has only allowed three earned runs this season against two top-three teams in the High-A Northwest League. In his third season in the minors, Rinehart has two innings of relief under his belt for the Everett AquaSox.
Going on his second season in the minors with the St. Louis Cardinals, Bryan Pope has stats three innings on the mound and is currently maintaining a 2.70 ERA. Pope holds a 3.56 career ERA in the minors, collecting three wins over 73 innings pitched.
AA
Andrew Bash started the season well for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a Double-A affiliate of the Blue Jays. Bash pitched an inning on Friday of opening weekend and threw two strikeouts. Aftera few years in the minors, Bash has earned 19 wins from the mound and holds a career 4.54 ERA.
AAA
Tyson Miller saw ten total innings of action on the mound during Spring Training for the Milwaukee Brewers. During his six games, the right-handed pitcher earned a 1.29 ERA and only allowed three hits, maintaining a .150 batting average against.
Miller is currently playing triple-A ball for the Nashville Sounds and stats seven strikeouts in ten innings pitched this season. He currently holds a 1.80 earned-run average and a .200 batting average against.
The Lancers have a history of success in professional baseball under the tenure of Gary Adcock. In the last 19 seasons, Adcock has had 28 players drafted and seven free-agent signings. The most recent 2022 draftees include Chad Castillo, whom the Philadelphia Phillies drafted in the ninth round, CJ Culpepper, who was picked up in the thirteenth round by the Minnesota Twins, and David Martin, whom the Arizona Diamondbacks selected in the sixteenth round. Harrison Spohn signed a free-agent deal with the Miami Marlins in 2022 as well.
SINGLE-A
In his first year with the Minnesota Twins organization, CJ Culpepper opened the season with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels and saw four innings of action on the mound. The right-handed pitcher delivered two strikeouts and kept his ERA untouched after allowing a single hit.
Harrison Spohn signed as a free agent with the Miami Marlins in 2022 and was placed on the Single-A Jupiter Hammerheads for the 2023 season. The shortstop launched the first home run of the Hammerhead's season and has collected four hits and three RBI in the first two weeks of the season.
Chad Castillo enters his first year apart of the Clearwater Threshers and already has three hits on the season. Castillo tallied his first home run of the season during the first series of the year and is maintaining a .200 batting average.
David Martin joins the Visalia Rawhide for his first year in Single-A baseball. Martin is currently hitting .222 and has two hits on the year as a catcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks Organization.
HIGH-A
Damon Keith started the year with a trip to Spring Training, where he saw the field multiple times for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Keith came up with three hits during three games for the Dodgers, including a double against the Cincinnati Cubs. The outfielder is now back at the Great Lakes Loons and has put up five hits with four RBI for the Dodger's High-A affiliate squad. Keith currently ranks 25th on the Los Angeles Dodgers prospect list.
Logan Rinehart has only allowed three earned runs this season against two top-three teams in the High-A Northwest League. In his third season in the minors, Rinehart has two innings of relief under his belt for the Everett AquaSox.
Going on his second season in the minors with the St. Louis Cardinals, Bryan Pope has stats three innings on the mound and is currently maintaining a 2.70 ERA. Pope holds a 3.56 career ERA in the minors, collecting three wins over 73 innings pitched.
AA
Andrew Bash started the season well for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a Double-A affiliate of the Blue Jays. Bash pitched an inning on Friday of opening weekend and threw two strikeouts. Aftera few years in the minors, Bash has earned 19 wins from the mound and holds a career 4.54 ERA.
AAA
Tyson Miller saw ten total innings of action on the mound during Spring Training for the Milwaukee Brewers. During his six games, the right-handed pitcher earned a 1.29 ERA and only allowed three hits, maintaining a .150 batting average against.
Miller is currently playing triple-A ball for the Nashville Sounds and stats seven strikeouts in ten innings pitched this season. He currently holds a 1.80 earned-run average and a .200 batting average against.
Players Mentioned
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